


Guardian Angel

by artenon



Series: guardian angel [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Community: snkkink, M/M, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 14:29:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artenon/pseuds/artenon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d been in this same situation before, not too long ago, except now he was the one chained up and behind bars. And, fuck, did it hurt, because these were the two comrades he trusted the most, and Erwin was looking at him with a guarded, wary expression, and Hange was staring at him with the light of science in her eyes, analyzing him like he was one of her experiments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guardian Angel

**Author's Note:**

> IF ANYONE I KNOW COULD JUST NOT LOOK AT THIS AND NOT LOOK AT ME OR TALK TO ME EVER AGAIN THAT WOULD BE GREAT THANKS BYE
> 
> hahahahAHA okay so i um worked up the courage to post [this kink meme prompt](http://snkkink.dreamwidth.org/2124.html?thread=1795148#cmt1795148) fill here i GUESS
> 
> more wingfic because reasons and more ereri because yeah
> 
> this is like. soft M??? idk heck if i know how rating things work i've never posted...this...kind of thing before. IT'S NOT EVEN VERY EXPLICIT BUT HAHA OH GOD I'M GONNA DIE BYE

The pain of having his wings bound tightly to his back was constant, but Levi was used to it, and on most days, it was nothing more than a dull ache pushed to the back of his mind. But it was always there, which was why Levi noticed something was wrong the moment he woke up. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the pressure on his back was gone.

He sat up quickly, only to be jerked back by restraints on his wrists. Levi stared at them in bewilderment before he woke up completely and realized where he was.

The courtroom dungeon.

And standing opposite of him, on the other side of the bars, were Erwin and Hange.

Shit, he knew what was coming. He’d been in this same situation before, not too long ago, except now he was the one chained up and behind bars. And, fuck, did it hurt, because these were the two comrades he trusted the most, and Erwin was looking at him with a guarded, wary expression, and Hange was staring at him with the light of science in her eyes, analyzing him like he was one of her experiments.

The cause of this reaction, of course, was the large pair of white wings protruding from Levi’s back. The wings lay limp against his back as usual, but he felt naked and vulnerable with them exposed, rather than strapped down to his back and hidden under his shirt like they usually were. He scooted a little closer to the wall, trying to surreptitiously hide as much of them as he could behind himself.

It didn’t really work, so he just waited for Erwin or Hange to say something. They remained silent.

“Well?” Levi said finally. “Have you got something to say, or are you just going to keep _staring_?”

“Well,” Erwin said, speaking slowly, “obviously, we’re facing a unique situation here.”

“Save the crap for someone else, Erwin, not me,” Levi cut in. “How many people know? What’s going to happen?”

 _Are you still on my side_ , he didn’t ask, didn’t know how to ask, but he figured he would find out soon enough anyway.

“Not so many people saw, but rumors started to spread immediately. You should assume everyone knows. Considering your entrance into the city…” Erwin trailed off, and Levi sighed.

He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened, but he thought he could piece together the fuzzy memories. During the fight with the Female Titan, the straps holding down his wings had snapped. His huge, fluffy white wings, clumsy and easy targets for the Titan, who’d practically crushed one of them under her hand.

They’d gotten away, in the end, but Levi’s 3DMG gear had been wrecked, so what could he do but fly? It had been a world of pain, but his wings would heal, they always healed, he just had to _get away get away get away_ now that he had Eren—dirty and disgusting but _safe_ —in his arms.

Beside him, Mikasa had kept up in her 3DMG, staring at him—at his wings—but Levi hardly noticed, focusing entirely on the thought that he had to make it back and over the wall. He thought maybe he made it before collapsing.

Well—if he hadn’t made it, he would probably be dead, so it was a safe assumption to make.

But Levi might still end up dead anyway. No doubt the Military Police would be clamoring for custody of him. It was Eren’s case all over again, and oh, shit, Eren. What would happen to him? He had been allowed to join the Scouting Legion because the others believed that Levi would be able to kill him should he lose control, but with the situation being what it was…

“Eren,” he started, not even sure what he wanted to ask.

“He’s in the infirmary,” Erwin said. “Although I expect he’ll be joining you here soon.”

“And his friend—Mikasa.”

“She’s fine. The Military Police questioned her, but she was let go.”

They had all been avoiding the reason there was even a situation in the first place, the reason that was currently being pressed between Levi’s back and the clammy dungeon wall. But Hange had been staring at them blatantly, and now Erwin shifted his gaze to them as he spoke.

“How long have you had those?”

“Forever,” Levi said through gritted teeth.

They didn’t need the full story. He hadn’t been born with them, but he suspected they had always been there, because when he was young, his back would always hurt with the most agonizing burning sensation.

But Erwin and Hange didn’t need to know how Levi had felt when his wings had finally torn through the flesh on his back, the way his muscles had felt like they were on fire. They didn’t need to know the way he’d clutched his blankets and pressed his face into his pillow and screamed and cried until his parents had come running to see what was wrong—and then _they_ had started screaming.

How he’d learned to bind his wings even though it _hurt_ , to hide his abnormality and survive on the streets. His parents thought he was a monster—Levi didn’t need to be told what the rest of the world would think.

“You should have told me,” Erwin said, and Levi didn’t miss the deliberate use of _me_ , not _us_.

It was true that Levi owed a lot to Erwin, that Erwin had given Levi everything when he was nothing, but Levi didn’t—couldn’t—trust anyone. He still remembered the looks on his parents’ faces when they saw him, the sound of their voices when they’d demanded Levi tell them what he was, the way they’d ignored him when he’d cried that _he didn’t know_. How easily they had turned their backs on him without a second thought.

 _And aren’t you looking at me now_ , Levi thought, _with the same look everyone gives to Eren?_

But though he was bitter, he couldn’t blame Erwin. After all, he was unnatural—a monster.

“Why the hell should I have?” Levi asked, realizing that the silence had been stretching out because Erwin had been waiting for an answer. Levi usually wasn’t short on words, but he hated talking about himself—and he certainly didn’t want to talk about his wings.

‘His’ wings, although they didn’t feel like it; they hung like deadweight from his back, foreign and invasive. The only time they’d ever felt, _really_ felt, like a part of him was when he had flown with them, for the first time, just some hours prior.

“This situation might have been avoided,” Erwin said, but he looked resigned, and his posture shifted, which meant he was probably leaving. “We’re going to do our best to get you back, so don’t say anything stupid and get people angry.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Levi muttered, sliding his gaze to the wall.

Erwin turned to leave, beckoning to Hange, but she shook her head.

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

Erwin nodded, and Levi focused his attention on Hange, bracing himself.

“I never would have guessed _this_ was the secret of Corporal Levi,” she said once the commander’s footsteps had faded, and her tone was light, but Levi bristled anyway.

“But you suspected something.”

“Of course. Erwin, too. We’ve known you for years, you know. Something always seemed…off.”

How long had they been waiting, maybe to catch him off guard and discover his secret? Levi scowled at her. “So, what, are you glad now that you know? Can’t wait to start experimenting on me? Don’t lie—I can see it on your face.”

“Don’t be like that. Of course I’m _curious_ ; you can’t blame me. And it’s not like I want to dissect you—just a few tests—”

“Hange.”

She stopped. “You’re still Levi,” she said.

Still Levi, maybe, but definitely not human.

“I think that’s enough talk for today,” Levi said, and then, “Stop _ogling_ them.”

“They’re pretty!” She gave him a cheeky grin, but the expression softened after a moment. “We’ll get you out of here soon, okay? Hang in there!”

Another exaggerated smile, a wave, and she was gone.

Levi sighed and leaned back against the wall. Hange didn’t mean harm, not really. She just wanted to understand. But that didn’t make the way she looked at him any less unnerving, and though he never expected a different reaction from her, maybe a small part of him did hope.

He closed his eyes and didn’t open them again until the sound of footsteps alerted him to someone else’s arrival. Eren appeared into view, being pushed along by a Military Police guard, who opened the cell door and unceremoniously shoved the teen in.

The guard grumbled as he attached the restraints by the bed to Eren’s wrists, kicking the boy in the stomach as he stood; Eren let out a half-angry, half-pained cry of protest, and Levi lunged forward on reflex before remembering that he was chained down, too.

The guard just sneered at him and spat in his face—Levi nearly gagged—before stalking out of the dungeon.

“Fuck you,” he muttered once the guy was gone, because he wasn’t stupid enough to deliberately provoke someone. He wiped his face furiously with his sleeve— _gross_ —and looked down at Eren, who was struggling from his keeled position on the floor. “Hey, kid, you okay?”

“Corporal—they told me you were here, but what are you doing in—” He broke off, staring over Levi’s shoulders, and Levi felt self-conscious despite himself. “—here,” Eren finished lamely. “Corporal—”

“If you’ve got something to say, say it,” Levi said, and Eren flushed, bringing his eyes to Levi’s face.

“You saved me, right? Mikasa told me. Um—thank you. Mikasa says thank you, too.”

“Just doing my job,” Levi muttered. He’d never been good with thank yous.

“She,” Eren started, his eyes drifting back to Levi’s wings. “She didn’t tell me everything, it seems.”

Levi made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, and Eren fell silent.

Shit, this was awkward. It was rare that Levi didn’t know what to say, but right now the uneasy air was palpable. Curse the courtroom for only having one dungeon.

Finally he said, “Are you going to sit on the floor all night?”

“Um,” Eren said, but he scrambled to his feet. The chains holding him down were short, but not so short (not as short, at least, as Levi’s, which barely allowed him to sit up on the bed) that Eren couldn’t comfortably move to sit on the edge of the bed. His gaze slid, once more, to the pair of wings on Levi’s back. “Are those really—”

“Wings?” Levi finished for him. “Are you blind? What the hell do you think they are?”

“I just—they’re—” Eren stammered, then gave up. “…Can I touch them?”

“ _What?_ ” Levi was uncomfortable enough with Eren’s staring; he didn’t think he could handle the brat’s hands on his wings.

“Never mind,” Eren said quickly, averting his gaze.

Levi sighed. _To hell with it._ “Go ahead.”

He wasn’t really sure why he decided to give Eren permission. Maybe it was because he didn’t mind so much the way Eren stared at his wings—not with wariness like Erwin or scrutiny like Hange, but with an almost childlike wonder.

Eren lifted his hand, chains rattling, and Levi half-turned to give him better access.

The moment Eren’s hand touched his wing, a shudder went through Levi’s whole body.

“Are you okay?” Eren asked, pulling back sharply.

“I’m fine,” Levi snapped, although it had felt like a shock going through his body. “No one’s ever touched them before,” he said, realizing it as he said it, which was stupid, because obviously no one had ever touched his wings before. The thought had just never really occurred to him until now; but, of course, he tried not to think about his wings, except for the passing thought that they were such inconveniences, or burdens, or nuisances. And sometimes he would have darker thoughts, but those would be pushed away quickly, for he had more important things to worry about.

But here was Eren, with his hands back on Levi’s wings, stroking them with a kind of _reverence_ , massaging the thick muscles, and Levi couldn’t suppress his sigh.

“Okay?” Eren asked, this time more gentle rather than panicked.

“Fine,” Levi said again, then, grudgingly, “It feels good.”

“How have you kept these hidden all this time?” Eren asked, genuinely curious.

“I strap them down.”

“Doesn’t it hurt? Does it injure them?”

A part of Levi wanted to tell Eren to fuck off with his questions, but he closed his eyes and focused on the soft hands gently moving along his wings.

“They always heal.”

It had to be enough of an answer, because Levi wasn’t telling Eren about how he had to work his wings into improbable positions before strapping them down, how he every day he would feel his wings continuously trying to heal, straining against his bindings. Nor was he telling Eren about the time he had tried to cut them off by himself, had actually severed them off, nearly blacking out halfway through pushing the knife through all the muscle. He’d been in excruciating pain, bent over on his hands and knees in a pool of his own blood and vomit. It was the pain of the wings growing back that had caused him to pass out in the end, and then he’d been sick for a week after; he’d never tried that again.

Yeah, he’d always hated his wings, and with good reason. But they felt kind of funny now, with Eren’s fingers digging into them. Like they were actually a part of him, rather than just a heavy lump attached to his back. They responded to Eren’s touch, seeming to perk up.

It was unnerving.

“Oi, I think that’s enough.”

 “Sorry,” Eren said, pulling back, and Levi felt the loss immediately.

He resisted the urge to press his wings under Eren’s hands again; hadn’t he wanted Eren to stop?

“…They’re beautiful,” Eren said quietly.

“They’re disgusting,” Levi said automatically. “They’re a monstrosity.” The corner of his mouth twisted into a bitter grin. “Don’t we make a pair?”

“You’re not a monster,” Eren said. “I may be, but you…”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not human, so what am I?”

Eren was silent for a moment.

“Well, that day when you saved me,” he said, then stopped.

“What?” Levi asked.

“When I saw you, I thought—I thought you looked like a guardian angel.”

Levi was glad he was still mostly turned away from Eren, because his embarrassing-as-fuck comment had him blushing. “What the hell,” he managed to say. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

It wasn’t like the thought had never crossed his mind, but it was more of a wish than anything. Levi, an angel? The thought was laughable. Angels were—well, not _Levi_ , that was for sure. Angels didn’t live lives of crime until someone took pity on them. Angels didn’t get locked up in dungeons while a court of idiotic humans decided on his fate.

…An angel probably wouldn’t be thinking about kissing someone half his age.

A heavy weight landed on his back, and he stiffened as Eren’s arms wound around him, chains falling on Levi’s lap, arms rubbing against his wings, fingers brushing his bare chest.

“What are you—get off,” he protested, but that just made Eren press closer.

“And then, just today, you saved me again.”

“Do you really need to be all over me to say that?” Levi asked, craning his neck to look at him, and oh, shit, they were too close.

“They’re beautiful,” Eren said, his breath gusting over Levi’s face. “ _You’re_ beautiful.”

It was the most godawful ( _embarrassing_ ) line Levi had ever heard, but before he could tell him that—

Eren kissed him.

Despite initially freezing at the contact, Levi couldn’t deny sighing into it moments later, and he brought up one of his hands to touch Eren’s face. Their angle was awkward, but he couldn’t turn around properly because Eren, the sneaky bastard, had gotten his hands into his wings again—but Levi couldn’t bring himself to care, because under Eren’s hands, Levi’s wings felt _alive_.

“Eren,” he murmured when they parted.

“Corporal.”

“I’m not an angel,” he said. “If I was, I could protect you, but as it is—I could die tomorrow.”

“Corporal—”

“Say my name,” Levi whispered.

“Levi,” Eren breathed, like it was a prayer. “Levi, Levi, Levi.”

He mouthed the name into his shoulder, trailing kisses down his back until he reached where wing fused with flesh, and Levi inhaled sharply at the sensation.

He was getting hard, damn it, and so was Eren, because he could feel the erection pressing against him.

“Eren—” He turned, finally facing him, took his face in his hands, and kissed him on the lips.

Eren maneuvered himself onto Levi’s lap, and the chains were cold where they rubbed Levi’s bare skin, but Eren was hot, and they were grinding against each other, still both in their pants, and there were so many things wrong with this situation, but Levi couldn’t bring himself to give a fuck, especially not with Eren still repeating his name in that tone of voice.

Levi had no words, but Eren filled the silence, and although Levi was worried that he was going to wear his name out, he hadn’t gotten tired of it yet.

He pressed wet kisses to Eren’s throat, eliciting a moan, and Eren’s hands roamed over Levi’s chest and back, inevitably ending up back at his wings—and Levi had never, ever thought that someone would be stroking his wings and that he would find the action _erotic_ , but here he was. He’d never realized that his wings were so _sensitive_.

Levi’s mind kind of blanked, aware vaguely of the feel of Eren’s body against him, of Eren chanting his name, and he thought that he didn’t deserve Eren, didn’t deserve this— _whatever_ the kid was directing at him. He didn't deserve it at all.

But still Eren held him and kissed him and, _fuck_ , they were flush against each other but it somehow wasn’t close enough—

They both came in their pants in the end, shuddering and clinging onto each other, breaths coming out heavily, and Levi’s brain caught up with what was happening enough for him to think, _Shit, what did I just do?_

But instead of thinking about it, he just brought his head up to kiss Eren on the mouth, lazily; Eren tilted his face into it, and when he pulled away, he made a contented humming noise and nuzzled his head against Levi.

“Sleepy,” he murmured.

“It’s okay,” Levi whispered. “Go to sleep.”

Eren didn’t need to be told twice; he was out within a minute. Levi stared in surprise, then sighed and lay beside him.

They were filthy, although that was to be expected, and Levi should have cared, but—well, he didn’t. He might die tomorrow, so what the hell.

Instead, he watched as Eren slept, one wing draped over him like a blanket, and he couldn’t help but think how perfect he looked nestled in his wings.

_Ah, shit._

Eren was wrong. Levi wasn’t an angel. But even so, for as long as he was able, he would watch over him.

**Author's Note:**

> why did i think posting this publicly was a good idea again


End file.
